Slayers of the Old Republic Book VII: Leviathan
by Michael Weyer
Summary: Captured by the Sith, the crew must try to escape. However, a shocking revelation will change Buffy and Faith forever. Xover with Star Wars: KOTOR
1. Chapter 1

Slayers of the Old Republic

Book VII: Leviathan

By Michael Weyer

Buffy the Vampire Slayer owned by Mutant Enemy Productions.

Star Wars created and owned by George Lucas.

Knights of the Old Republic created by BioWare Entertainment.

Buffy stretched her arms overhead as she padded into the galley of the ship. She was dressed in a looser pair of pants and shirt, a far cry from her more professional outfits. She brushed her hair back and paused as she saw Faith sitting at a table. The Slayer was clad in just pants and leather top, her hair an unruly mess. She was chewing on her meal as Buffy entered.

The two looked each other up at the same time and then broke into nice smiles. "Bout time," they said in unison.

Buffy chuckled as she moved to get some food for herself. "It figures. It takes being transported to another galaxy for us to get lucky."

Faith swallowed a piece of her breakfast. "So what happened to all those Jedi rules you're supposed to be following?"

Buffy gave her a look. "Like I'm the poster child for rule following?"

"Point," Faith admitted. "So how's Super Jedi Gal handling it?"

"Haven't talked to her yet," Buffy answered with a shrug. "I'm sure she'll be howling and wailing and taking a haughty attitude that would do Giles proud."

"And you ain't gonna change one bit because of it," Faith predicted.

"You know me so well," Buffy laughed as she took her tray and sat down. She poked at her food before speaking. "It's…different."

Faith nodded. "Cause he's actually a decent guy?"

"I had one decent guy," Buffy stated. "Riley. But he wasn't…"

"Yeah, he wasn't." Faith's smile ended at Buffy's glare. "Aw, come on, B, it was five years ago! You can't still be mad about me and Farmboy!"

Buffy glared but then shook her head. "No…no, I let that go a while ago." She chewed on her food. "I just don't…I still get the feeling there's something he's holding back from me. Even when we're…you know…I get flashes…"

"Flashes?" Faith frowned.

Buffy smiled. "Apparantly, Jedi love-making isn't just physical. The Force merging like that allows you to really know what the other is feeling, what they want, what they need…"

"Now that's handy," Faith said with her light leer.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "But those flashes…I get stuff like battles…massive conflict…and…him."

"Vance?"

Buffy shook her head. "No. Revan."

Faith frowned. "Why the hell would Vance be thinking of Revan?"

Buffy held up her hands. "I've been trying to figure that out. Maybe he ran into him during the war, on some battlefield but he's never mentioned that. I know it's Revan. I recognize the mask, the robes and all that but…" She bit her lip. "I can't explain it but when I saw it…I got this flash that he was…so close…"

"Better not mention it to Carth," Faith said. "He's still got a mad on for the Sith, especially this Saul guy."

"At the risk of sounding like Bastila, he'd better keep his mind on the mission and not some vendetta."

Faith brushed her hair back. "Gotta say, I understand where he's coming from. Karath took his wife, his son, everything. It's only natural he wants some payback."

"And you think that'll solve his problems?"

Faith shook her head. "Nope. I've been where he is, B. I know how it is to feel cold all the time. He doesn't deserve that."

"Maybe you should try telling him that," Buffy said.

Faith sighed. "Come on, B…you know I'm not one to talk frank on feelings. We just started up, I don't want to throw a big monkey wrench into things now."

Buffy sipped her drink and tapped her fingers on the table. "Faith, I know we were never close but take it from someone who's done more than a few crash and burns in the romance airfield. You want to do your best to make it work, try to be a bit more open with him from the start."

"Being open has never been my strong suit, B," Faith noted.

"New galaxy, new way to start life," Buffy replied.

Faith nodded as she rose up. "You're right. You are." She smiled. "Thanks, B. Wow, never imagined how nice girl talk can be."

"Don't go getting soft," Buffy said with a smile. "The wild edge is what we like about you."

"Soften? Me?" Faith chuckled as she headed out, Buffy's gaze following amused. She chewed on her food as a series of metallic clunks intruded and she looked up to see HK-47 coming by. "What are you up to, HK?"

"Explanation: The Mandalorian meatbag made adjustments to my leg servos, Master. I am testing them out and so far they meet my satisfaction."

"Cool."

"Analysis: There is no significant shift in the interior temperature of the ship, Master."

"Old expression," Buffy stated. She chewed on her food as she looked at the table. HK cocked his head as he studied her. "Observation: You seem troubled, Master. Query: Are you having difficulties of some sort?"

Buffy tapped her fork as she looked up. "What do you think of love, HK?"

"Definition: _Love_ is making a shot to the knees of a target 120 kilometers away using an Aratech sniper rifle with a tri-light scope."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Why did I even ask?"

"Statement: I assume that was a rhetorical question. Let me see if I can create another metaphor…" His eyes flashed a bit before he spoke. "Definition: Love is knowing your target, putting them in your targeting reticule, and together, achieving a singular purpose against statistically long odds."

Buffy stared at him in amazement. "HK…that's quite possibly the most astute statement about love I've ever heard anyone make."

"Statement: Why thank you, Master! I am happy to have answered your question with satisfaction. If you shall excuse me, I must test my new servos in target practice." He stalked off as Buffy rose to clean off her plate.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

One didn't need Jedi senses to feel the rage Bastila barely held back as she stalked down the hallways of the ship and to the training room. The sight of Vance shirtless as he went through a series of practice swings with his lightsaber just seemed to focus her feelings. "What in all the hells are you thinking!" she snapped.

"And good morning to you too," Vance calmly said as he kept his moves going.

"Forgetting it's a violation of the Code, which I cannot forget," Bastila went on. "Do you realize how dangerous this is? In the midst of a mission to get involved with Buffy is…is…"

"Is what?" Vance asked as he turned to her. "I can understand you're upset, Bastila but you act like this is a total disaster."

"It can be," she stressed. "You and her…" She shook her head. "I know you are not a typical Jedi, Vance. We both know the reasons why. But Buffy is…well, she's unique as well and the combination of the two of you can be devastating. Not just to this mission but to yourselves."

Vance switched his saber off as he shook his head. "Bastila…I respect you, as a teacher and a Jedi but quite frankly…this is none of your business."

"Yes. It is." Bastila glared at him and for the first time, Vance felt a flicker of fear at the fire she was showing. "I will not allow this."

"It's not your decision," Vance said. "And why are you so afraid about us? What makes this so dangerous?"

Bastila seemed to want to say something but couldn't. Shaking his head, Vance reached to grab his shirt and stalked away. She watched him go and closed her eyes, knowing that this was going to become a complete and utter disaster despite all her attempts to stop it.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Faith stepped into the bridge to see Carth at the controls, checking the readouts. "How far off are we?" she asked.

"Not too much," he answered, his voice calm. "I'll be taking us out of hyperspace in a minute so we can reposition and then replot our course."

""Cool," Faith said as she lounged into the next chair. She fixed him with a sultry smile. "So…up for taking a break?"

Carth managed a smile even as he checked his readouts. "I think we need to space them out. I didn't realize how out of shape I was before I met you."

"Sorry," Faith said with no real apology in her voice. "Forget myself sometimes…specially when lust is in my heart and head."

Carth sniffed. "I could tell." He felt Faith's hand caress his chest and sighed. "Hmm….careful…"

"Come on…" Faith said as she blew into his ear. "I'm eager to join the Million Mile High Club."

Carth was about to ask what she meant when the ship suddenly shook. Faith gasped and fell back, alert. "What the hell!"

Carth was quick to check the readouts and his face went ashen. "Oh, hell," he muttered. Faith looked out and felt a chill go up her spine as she saw a massive black craft floating before them. "Don't tell me…"

"Sith Inderector," Carth intoned. "They must have been waiting for us." He hit a button and a loud klaxon began to erupt throughout the ship. He hit the console fast, trying to program in a new course but the entire ship shuddered.

"Get us out of here!" Faith yelled.

"I can't!" Carth fired back. "They've got us in a tractor beam! The power of it is too strong, we can't get free!" He looked up as the large shape grew closer and shivered. "I know that ship. _The Leviathan._ That's Saul's flagship."

"Which means Malak's there too," Faith said as she shot to her feet and hurried to the main meeting area. Carth was right behind her. Everyone else had gathered, all tense and ready. Faith noted how Buffy and Vance were right next to each other, each seeming to draw strength as Carth told them what was happening.

"Saul Karath was my teacher. He taught me everything I know about being a soldier. He's cool and methodical and always prepared. He's not going to take any chances with any of us."

"Which means we can expect a heavy guard once we are set down," Bastila intoned. "And they will most likely try to separate us."

"Statement: Any meatbag who attempts to board this ship shall meet a messy end!" HK declared, thrusting a fist in the air.

"Oh, that's smart," Mission intoned sarcastically. "HK, they've gonna have almost every soldier on the ship aiming guns at us!"

"Query: And your point is?"

"We're not doing that," Buffy quickly said. "Listen, we've got ten minutes tops before we're in and they're breaking the hatch down. Any ideas?"

"I could try to pickpocket a key off one of the guards," Mission offered.

"Way too dangerous," Vance said. "And they'll make sure Zaalbar is in their strongest cell so he won't be able to do anything."

"Suggestion: I could fake shutting down, Master. Then I can escape from whatever lab they put me in and get to you." At HK's side, T3 let out a series of whistles. "Statement: Silence, bucket-brain! I stand a better chance of success than you!"

Vance looked to the others. "What about you guys?"

"I can't use my powers on every soldier in the ship," Jolee intoned. "But I could get one or two to look the other way…"

"Too dangerous with so many numbers," Canderous growled. "Hmm…I could fake a severe injury, maybe a console exploding in my face and get taken to medical."

Carth's eyes bugged out. "And that's not dangerous!"

Canderous waved a hand. "The stims and my own regenerative abilities can fix that. I'll be in a perfect spot to strike."

"Assuming the Sith do not simply put you out of your misery," Juhani argued.

There was a rumble as the ship settled into the main hold of the _Leviathan_. "Time's up," Carth intoned. He looked to Buffy and to Bastila. "So…what's the plan?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Karath calmly walked into the main hanger of the Sith ship. The _Ebon Hawk _sat in the middle of the bay, surrounded on all sides by a full platoon of armored soldiers, all with weapons aimed. Lining the catwalks above the bay were more troops, also aiming rifles and pulse cannons at the ship. As the hatch ramp slowly lowered, every troop tensed and readied their aim.

Karath stood calm, hands behind his back as the entire party exited from the ship. They held hands up, weapons in them but pointing away from the troops. Slowly, they lowered them to the ground. The only one hesitating was HK but a glare from Buffy caused him to reluctantly place his weapons down. There were several clanking sounds and everyone turned to see Canderous dropping a dagger onto the rather sizeable pile of hidden weapons at his feet.

Carth's eyes were fixed right on Karath's as the admiral strode up. "Carth," he said in a friendly tone. "It's been quite a while."

"Not long enough," Carth hissed, the hate he felt for his former mentor evident to all.

Karath looked to the others and then to a lieutenant. "Strip and search them thoroughly. Bring Onasi, Bastila and her apprentices to the interrogation chambers. Have the others separated and under heavy guard. The droids are to be placed in the mechanical bay for now." He turned and marched off as the captives were quickly led away.

With all the attention on the captives, no one noticed the slight blur that occurred in the air around the ramp. It was fast, almost more than the eye could follow. It seemed to pause every few seconds as if searching for a space. It finally settled in a dark corner, the blur shimmering into a shape.

As the stealth field generator switched off, Faith took a deep breath and leaned against the wall. "Eat your heart out, Solid Snake," she muttered as she made her way through the enemy ship.


	2. Chapter 2

Slayers of the Old Republic

Book VIII: Leviathan

By Michael Weyer

The interrogation cell was the typical style for the Sith. Clean, methodical, designed to keep such "messy" things like blood or other fluids off the floors and walls. In the center were a quartet of force field cages, holding Carth, Bastila, Buffy and Vance. They had been stripped down to simple underwear and shirts, the guards at the room's edges keeping their rifles aimed despite the cages.

Karath took all this in as he stepped into the room. He calmly strode up to the cages and nodded. "Carth, it has been far too long since we last spoke. I see the recent months have not been kind in your case, I barely recognized you."

"But I recognize you, Saul." Carth struggled to speak, even though the dark anger had fashioned itself into an icy calm. "I see your face every night even as a promise myself that I would kill you for what you did to my home world."

Saul seemed disappointed. "Have you learned nothing in your time spent under me? As a soldier, you should know by now that casualties are unavoidable. It was an act of war..."

"It was a cowardly act of betrayal! Your fleet bombed a civilian target into oblivion without warning or provocation, and the blood of those innocent people is on your hands!" Even without the power field in his cage, Carth could feel his nerves vibrate, every fiber of himself wanting to strike out and make that treasonous blackguard feel the same kind of pain.

"In war, even the innocent must die. The Sith would not accept me until I had truly proved that I turned my back on the Republic by bombing the planet." Saul finished with a shrug, as if he had done nothing more than announce the winning times of a swoop race.

"My wife died in that attack, Saul. And for that, I swear I'll kill you." Carth's voice was of an icy tenor that, Buffy decided, would have made Giles in Ripper mode proud.

"Ah, Carth," Saul sighed. "I had hopes for you, such high hopes. You would have made an excellent Captain in your own right for the Sith. But I suppose Dustil can fill that spot eventually."

Carth's face twisted in rage. "I should have known you'd be behind him joining the Sith."

"On the contrary, it was his own idea. Oh, I did give a letter of recommendation for the Academy and told him it would be good to escape your shadow, forge his own path. I cannot be blamed for abandoning him."

"I thought he was dead, Saul! Dead in the attack YOU caused!"

Saul sniffed. "You used to be a man of action, not of empty words. Cling to your lust for revenge if you must, but spare me your tired threats. I've heard them all before." He sighed and paced back to the control panel in the room's center. "Besides, you are an insignificant part of these events anyway Lord Malak is far more interested in your Jedi companions. He has great plans for them."

Bastila was not to be intimidated. "We will never serve Malak, or the Dark Side. The Sith will be destroyed, Admiral Karath. As will you if you do not turn away from this path."

"Your words are brave, Bastila, but the lure of the Dark Side is hard to resist - or so I've been told." His face twisted into a smile that made Carth seethe. "I wonder if your companions are as devoted to the Light as you are?"

Vance narrowed her eyes. "I know my loyalties."

"Oh, really?" Saul laughed. "I'm sure Lord Malak will find your loyalty to the Jedi...amusing. The Dark Lord would probably reward me if I just killed you once and for all. But, he may want to question you, given the trouble you've caused him...and the history between you."

"History?" Buffy asked. "What history?"

Saul looked to her, studying her for a moment before smiling. "You mean...oh, this can't be true, can it? Oh, you really don't know, do you? You have no idea what's going on here, do you?"

"What are you talking about?" Buffy asked, truly baffled.

The Sith Admiral shrugged. "Well, I won't be the one to deprive Malak of the pleasure of telling you himself. The Dark Lord will no doubt torture you for information and his own twisted pleasure. Eventually, you will tell him everything. The Sith can be very persuasive," Saul said casually. "However, Lord Malak is currently en route from another planet so I suppose I'll have to fill in until then." He turned to a technician. "Activate the torture cells."

The energy field came to life, and a scream was ripped from their throats as the jolts of power coursed through them, pure and cruel. Buffy had felt pain before. Hell, she'd felt death before. But it was still agony to be ripped by the energies in the cell.

"Enough! I don't want you passing out before I've had the chance to interrogate them," Saul said firmly. "Malak would appreciate any information you can give him when he arrives."

The power was cut and the pain stopped, leaving its echoes on his raw nerves. Bastila was shaking a little. Vance was weaving like a drunk while Buffy shivered and tried to regain her senses. The rage pushed the pain from his mind for a moment and gave Carth the strength to speak.

"Don't waste your breath, Saul! We won't answer any of your questions."

"I'm sure you won't, Carth. I know you too well for that," He once again walked over to Vance and Buffy's cages. She was looking glassy-eyed and shaken, but still attempting to put on a brave front. "However, we both know your friend's loyalties in the past to be somewhat...flexible."

"What?" she asked. Her voice was steady to anyone who did not know her well, but Vance could see it in her eyes, the struggle brought on by the intense pain.

"I am the one interrogating you - not the other way around. You will answer questions. I will ask them," Saul said sharply.

He activated her cage and her shriek of pain hit Vance like a physical blow. He would not cry out. He would not beg Saul...he would not betray her. Saul cut the power and Buffy tried her best to keep herself on her feet. She looked up, her face twisted in a sneer. "Buddy…I've been…tortured by pros…You're gonna…have to do better…"

Saul looked at her and slowly nodded. "Yes…I suppose I shall." He made a motion and Vance yelled out as his own cell turned on and raked him with torturing energies. Buffy rose up straight and pressed against the force field, ignoring the painful shocks it gave out. "Leave him alone!"

The shocking energy faded and Saul's genteel voice belied the cold anger beneath. "I tire of these games. Now, I want answers. On what planet is the Jedi Academy at which you were trained?"

"Corsucant, asshole," Buffy snapped. "Are you that stupid to not know?" She screamed along with the others as the electricity ripped through them.

"Enough!" Karath called as it ended. "Do you see what happens when you try to defy me? That first question was a test. Lord Malak already knew the Academy was on Dantooine. It has since been destroyed by our fleet. Dantooine is an empty graveyard now. Nothing remains but a smoking ruin and the charred remains of your former masters."

"You're lying!" Bastila cried out.

"It doesn't matter if you believe me or not, little Jedi. The fact remains that the hideout on Dantooine has been eradicated, along with any hope of someone coming to rescue you. Now, tell me your mission. How were the Jedi planning on using you to stop Lord Malak and our Sith armada?"

"Using me?" Buffy sniffed. "Come on, I'm not that important."

"He's just rattling you," Vance hissed. "Ignore him."

"I will," Buffy said. She looked to him. "I will," she repeated, meaning it. It was going to be hell, she knew. But no matter what she felt for Vance, she wouldn't break. She wouldn't give up any more information. She'd made that sort of mistake before, not again.

"I can tell that I'm wasting my time here," Saul said. "When Malak arrives, you will learn my interrogation techniques are considered merciful among the Sith. I will leave you here in your cells with a small taste of the horrors you will suffer..."

He nodded and all four cells ignited with another huge shock of electricity, greater than before. The howls of all four echoed in Saul's ears as he exited the room and the doors sealed shut behind him. He paused and shook his head. It was too bad for Carth, really. He'd still held out hopes that Onasi might see the light and join him. But he'd chosen his path and there was nothing he could do to stop his fate now. That thought echoed as Saul made his way toward the bridge.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Despite the tedium it could bring, the soldiers on the _Leviathan _had learned the hard way to never let their guard down. Darth Malak had made a habit of popping up without warning to check their alertness and woe to those who had been caught lax on duty. With the various prisoners, the soldiers were taking no chances and making sure to patrol the cell areas and that not one of them be on his own.

Two of them marched down a hallway, not speaking to one another, simply checking the space around them and listening to the comlinks for any signs of trouble. Unfortunately, they were only human and as such, they failed to consider every single direction trouble could come from. Thus, while they were quite alert to any trouble in front of them, it never occurred to them to look up.

Faith was pressed on the ceiling, her arms and legs spread wide out to brace herself against the bulkheads. As soon as the two soldiers had passed right under her, she dropped down, twisting herself in mid-air. Each foot caught a trooper right at the back of his head, stunning them both. Landing on her feet, Faith moved as fast as she could, smashing her knees into one soldiers gut and then grabbing his helmet. In one smooth motion, she yanked it off and punched him in the jaw. As he collapsed, the Slayer turned and smashed the helmet into the face of the other soldier, knocking him down and out.

Dropping the helmet, Faith knelt to check out both soldiers quickly. She pulled out a pair of stun grenades and hiked a rifle onto her shoulder. She figured she had five minutes, tops, before they were found and an alarmed raise. No pressure at all.

She made her way down the corridor, hoping the details she'd caught from the soldiers had been correct. She would have preferred to not be seen at all but the stealth field generating belt only had a limited battery and she had run it out fast. So she was now forced to improvise.

She paused and peeked around a corner. Judging from the number of soldiers outside the large bulkheads, she was in the right place. She backed up and took a deep breath. She reached to her belt and plucked out a stun grenade. Flipping the pin off, she counted and threw it around the corner, closing her eyes.

She heard the yells as it detonated and spun around, her rifle up and ready. Two years on Taris, including the security forces, had taught her how to handle a gun and that there were times that "shoot to wound" was not a viable strategy. She let out a series of short bursts and in seconds, the troopers were a pile of bodies on the floor.

It took two seconds to find the key one of them had on his body, five to open the door, ten to cut down the guards and another six to open up the force fields on the cells. "Rock 'n roll, folks, it's Independence Day!" She grinned as the crew began to pile out of the cells. "Sorry, always wanted to say that."

"Very impressive," Juhani noted as she headed to a nearby set of canisters. She opened one and began to pull out their gear. "You must have Cathar blood in you."

"Nah. Boston-bred. Which means I'm used to hard times," Faith said as she tossed her rifle to Canderous. "Let's get the droids and get going fast!"

"I like this woman," Canderous noted with a smile to Jolee.

"And yet I'm not assured," Jolee dryly stated.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Buffy groaned as she sat up, trying to get her bearings. She leaned against the field, shaking her head. The last time she'd felt pain like that was…well, quite a while ago. She looked to the next cell to see Vance staring at her. "Are you all right?" he softly asked.

"I guess," Buffy said. She bit her lip. "I'm sorry, Vance."

"For what?"

"I…maybe I should have spoken up when he zapping you…"

Vance shook his head. "No. You did the right thing, Buffy. I would have done the same if the circumstances were reversed."

"Oh, you would have subjected me to massive pain? Thanks." Buff was smiling though as she rose up and looked to Bastila and Carth. The non-Jedi seemed the worst off, holding his side and still wincing. Bastila's face was downturn, gazing at the floor. "Bastila?" Buffy carefully asked.

She sighed. "I was attempting to call to the Force…to see if what Saul said was true…The Dark Side must have been blocking it before but now…now…"

Buffy tensed. "It's true?"

Bastila nodded. "Yes. I can almost see the destruction. The Enclave, the Council there…there'll all gone."

Buffy closed her eyes. While she had considered most of the Council complete pricks, especially Vrook, she'd never wished death upon them. Neither had she ever wished pain upon the innocent people on Dantooine, the settlers, the merchants and the rest. She felt another burst of anger at Malak and this time she didn't try to automatically crush it.

"It hurt," she found herself saying to Vance. "To see you getting tortured like that really hurt me. I…I may have talked soon."

Vance smiled. "No. You're stronger than that. I know you are."

Buffy was about to respond when the doors suddenly brust inward. The soldiers were caught off-guard, startled by the sudden explosion. Before they could regroup, Canderous and HK stepped into the opening and cut them down with quick bursts of rifle fire.

Faith stepped in behind them and headed to the control console. "Good to see you guys again," she said as she quickly switched off the cages. As the four carefully stepped out, Faith tossed them several bundles of clothes, weapons and lightsabers. "We'd better get cracking."

"We've got a major problem," Carth stated. "We can't go anywhere with the tractor beam on. We're going to have to switch it off to escape and that can only be done by the main bridge."

"Then that's where we're headed," Buffy said. "You guys get to the ship, we'll go to the bridge."

"I'm coming with," Faith immediately said.

Buffy shook her head. "Faith, I need you to help make sure these guys get on safely."

"B…"

"Faith, please don't argue." After a pause, Faith nodded and Buffy turned to Carth. "Carth, I know you want payback for Saul but there's more at stake than revenge, ok? The tractor beam comes first."

Carth nodded and then paused as he and Faith looked at each other. "Be careful," Faith softly said. "Come back alive, ok?"

"I will," he replied just as softly. He smiled back. "I've got something to come back for."

"Bet your ass you do," Faith said, punching him in the arm.

"Enough of this," Bastila snapped. "Let's go now."

X**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Thanks to Faith's scouting earlier, they made their way to the main elevator leading to the bridge with relatively light resistance. Their first option had been to take it to a secondary deck and then access another elevator, which would have meant a running firefight through the halls against slews of soldiers and Dark Jedi. Fortunately, Faith had thought of having T3 access the Sith database and the droid had managed to unlock the elevator all the way to the bridge.

It was a short, tense ride to the command deck. Over the comlinks they had retrieved from their belongings, Canderous paged them.

"This is Canderous. We're at the _Ebon Hawk._ Like we figured, it's under heavy guard. But don't worry. We'll find a way to take care of them. Juhani has some of them distracted. We can take care of the rest."

The signal cut. Carth actually chuckled. "And knowing Canderous and Faith, it's going to be spectacular."

"What's the plan?" Vance asked.

"Go in, wipe out all guards and Dark Jedi, smash up Saul, shut the tractor beam off and get the hell out," Buffy stated, hefting her saber.

"Short but effective. I like it," Carth intoned.

As the elevator moved up, the Jedi all tensed as they felt a dark presence in the Force. "Malak," Bastila intoned severly. "He has arrived."

"Wonderful," Carth muttered as he checked his guns. "Let's hope they keep him under guard long enough for us to pull this off."

The elevator stopped and the group tensed in readiness. The doors slid open and they strode toward the large double doors at the other end of the hallway. The two soldiers standing guard raised their rifles but a sweep of Vance's hand sent them smashing into each other, then against the wall. A mild Force meddling with the lock and the doors swung wide open to reveal the bridge.

There were a half dozen soldiers on duty along with a pair of Dark Jedi. The Sith lit lightsabers and raised weapons at the quartet. Saul turned from his console and calmly looked at them as if they had come by for tea.

"Very resourceful." Saul spared a glance at Carth. "I can assume you had some part in this. You've learnt your lessons well from me."

"The only thing you've taught me is death and betrayal, Saul," Carth spat.

"Don't be a fool," The Admiral said with an expressionless face. "I´m giving you and your companions a chance to surrender. Malak himself is on his way."

"He speaks the truth, Cart,." Bastila said, suddenly fearful. "I can sense the Dark Lord's presence approaching."

"Malak will destroy you, but if you throw your weapons down, I'll ask my Master to be merciful."

Buffy snorted. "I think I've had my fill of Sith mercy."

Saul sadly shook his head. "You always did like to do things the hard way." Ignoring Buffy's confused look, he reached to his wrist. "Lord Malak would have preferred live prisoners, but corpses will have to do!"

With that, he activated his personal shield and aimed a Sith assassin pistol at Carth, who was quick enough to dodge the blast, throwing himself to the ground and firing a few of his own shots. The Dark Jedi standing near the Admiral drew lightsabers and charged at Bastila and Buffy, who managed to stab the guards near the door. A Sith trooper threw a plasma grenade at Bastila, but she saw it coming and pushed it back to the soldier, killing him. Her saber suddenly clashed against the red one, until she leapt into the air and with a flip, delivered a powerful attack that practically sliced the Dark Jedi in half. Carth was obviously trying to get to Saul.

The Admiral fired a shot at Vance, who deflected it right into the face of the Dark Jedi that tried to attack him. Bastila dashed off to kill the Sith grenadiers that barged through the bridge door while Buffy and Vance quickly cut down the remaining troops. Saul surprised Carth with a kick and the soldier fell to the ground. With a victorious sneer, Saul wanted to deliver the final blow with a vibroblade he quickly drew, but Carth kicked out at his leg, his boot falling just above Saul's knee and producing a loud crack.

Saul yelled in pain and fell, clutching his broken leg. Carth grabbed the vibroblade and held it to the man's throat. His eyes were cold as Saul froze, his own face racked with fear as he saw for the first time the pure hatred in his former protégée's eyes. "First lesson you taught me," Carth hissed, a twisted smile on his face. "Never hesitate even if your opponent is downed." He lifted the sword but Buffy caught his arm.

"Carth, no! He's not worth it!"

"Let go," he hissed. "You don't know what it's like to lose your world."

"Yes. I do." Buffy leaned down. "You don't want to do this. It won't bring your wife back."

"But it will even it up."

"Is this what she'd want? Is it what Dustil would want?"

Carth looked at her and Buffy could tell she'd connected. He slowly lowered his arm and backed up. With a look of disgust, he threw it down as he started to walk off. Behind him, Karath's hand closed around a loose blaster and he swung it at Carth's back.

"Carth!" Vance called out. In a blur, the soldier grabbed his own pistol from his holster and spun and fired in one smooth motion. The blast caught Saul right in the chest, knocking him back. He gasped as the blaster fell from his limp hand. Carth slowly lowered the blaster and sighed. "Thanks, Saul. You finally gave me the right chance."

Bastila was working on the console nearby. "I have it!" she called out. "The dock is open and the tractor beam is shut off!"

"Carth…Carth…"

The dying whispers of Saul Karath were clear on the silent bridge. Despite the massive wound, he managed to keep enough strength to beckon to the man before him. "Carth…must tell you something…come closer…"

Although he knew that Karath couldn't be trusted, Carth walked to him nonetheless, crouching beside the wounded soldier. As the Admiral lay dying, he managed to gather enough strength to whisper something that none of the Jedi could hear. Whatever it was, it caused Carth to leap back to his feet. His eyes were wide, his face looking as if he had just stuck his hand into a live power conduit. "No…" he rasped.

"…You didn't know, did you?" the dying Admiral laughed victoriously, coughing. "Remember my dying words… remember them whenever you look at those you thought were your friends…"

With a last pained gasp, Saul Karath´s strength left him and his now lifeless corpse lay on the floor. Carth stared down at his body, shaking his head, his eyes still wide. "He's gone. He said…no, no. No, it can´t be true, it can´t! Damn you, Saul. Damn you!"

"What did he say, Carth?" Buffy was unprepared for the look in his eyes as he turned to her and Vance. He stared in their direction before looking to the other Jedi, his face tightening in rage. "Bastila, it is true, isn't it?" It wasn't really a question… especially when he saw that the Jedi lowered her gaze. "And you knew! You and the whole damn Jedi Council. You knew all the time!"

"Carth, it's not what you think! We had no other choice! You don´t understand!"

"Oh, I understand!" Carth snapped, his face pointing at her. "I understand that you've been lying to us all this time! That you and the Council…you….I can't believe you could do that!"

"Do what?" Vance asked, as confused as Buffy. They saw Carth erupting with rage and Bastila more defensive than they'd ever seen her.

"Carth, I promise, I'll explain but this is not the time or place!" Bastila urged. "Please…trust me this once…"

Carth set his jaw. "Fine…but I'm expecting a lot of answers when we get out of here!"

"You'll get them," Bastila said. She turned to the others and nodded. "Come…the elevator will now lead us to the hanger bay." She quickly walked off, Carth glaring at the two before following. Buffy and Vance shared a baffled look as they went after them.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was another brief fight through several guards and Dark Jedi before they made their way to the hallways leading toward the hanger bay. Bastila was in the lead, with Carth behind her, sparing looks at Buffy and Vance. Both had noticed how he had seemed to be more worried about them than the Sith and wondered just what it was Saul had said.

They had just rounded a corner and were headed down the hall leading to the bay when the doors before them opened and there he stood.

Buffy gasped. She'd been in the presence of more forms of evil than any human being had a right to in a dozen lifetimes. But even the First didn't have such a total aura of darkness as Darth Malak did. He stood calm, his lightsaber held but not lit as he gazed at the four before him. He stared directly at Buffy, his cold eyes showing fury, annoyance…recognition? "So, we meet again."

Buffy could not move under the power of that stare but Bastila still had enough wit to act. "Darth Malak," Bastila said, powering on her saber.

Carth had his blasters at the ready and shot both barrels into him. "Down you go!"

Malak laughed off the shots as they seemed to warp around him. With a flourish, he pulled his lightsaber and turned it on while waving a hand to send Carth back to the floor. The blood red blade shimmered under the lights of the hallway as Malak cocked his head, addressing Bastila. "I hope you weren't thinking of leaving so soon, Bastila. I've spent far too much energy hunting you down and your companions to let you get away from me now." There was a cold smile in his mechanical voice, a malice that was absent from even HK-47's homicidal ranting.

His eyes turned toward the two Jedi behind the Knight. "Besides, I had to see for myself if it were true. Even now, I can hardly believe my eyes."

His red saber lifted to mirror her own as he _threw _his emotions at them, almost causing them to fall. A sense of being cheated, deprived of something he wanted badly.  
"Tell me, why did the Jedi spare you? Is it vengeance you seek at this reunion?"

"Reunion?" Buffy asked. "What are you talking about?"

"I must admit," Malak went on. "I never thought we'd be meeting again in this lifetime."

"Life's full of surprises," Vance said. Buffy was caught by his tone, suddenly stronger, more focused and…familiar to Malak. Her lover stepped forward, his lightsaber up and ready. "You want to go at it? Fine, I'm ready for----"

Malak waved his hand and Vance was sent flying back against the wall. He landed hard, shaking his head as he tried to recover. "I don't believe I was speaking to you, _Exile_." Malak coldly snapped before he turned to Buffy.

She swallowed and steeled herself. She focused the Force around her, let her mind get itself into battle mode. She didn't know what it would be. A quick lightsaber lunge, a blast of lightning, a mental attack. Whatever it was, she'd do her best to be ready and prepared for Malak's power.

What she could not be prepared for…What she could never be prepared for…Were the two words that exited Malak's voice box.

"Hello, Revan."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Bet you didn't see THAT one coming, didja! Before you ask, no, it's not a trick. Buffy is Revan. And before you ask, yes, I did indeed have this twist in mind all the time before I started writing SOTOR. I warned you that this wouldn't be like the game, didn't I? Next chapter will have the explanation as to how this happened so keep all the comments coming. **


	3. Chapter 3

Slayers of the Old Republic

Book VII: Leviathan

By Michael Weyer

The soldiers at the hanger bay area were on high alert as soon as word had come down about the prisoners escaping. They knew there were Jedi among the numbers and as such they could not take any chances. A dozen Dark Jedi were spread out, lightsabers on and ready to attack as soon as the main bay doors opened.

"All weapons hot!" a corporal called out to his troops. "As soon as you see anyone not in a Sith uniform, you will open fire!"

"Leave the Jedi to us," the leader of the Dark Jedi stated in a cool tone.

The corporal glared at him from behind his helmet. To him, these Dark Jedi were unbelievably arrogant, so assured in their own power and that no one could defeat him. A former Republic soldier, the man knew underestimating an enemy was a deadly mistake. "My orders are to contain them by any means necessary. I'm not going to wait for you to have some fun."

The Dark Jedi fixed him with a cold gaze. "Mind your tongue, soldier. We are soldiers of the Dark Side. In this situation, we have the power to------"

The rest of his statement was lost in a flash of light as he head seemed to explode. The solider leaped back, startled as the headless body fell. There were a series of flashes and suddenly the other Dark Jedi began falling. The soldier looked up to see a metallic body at one of the catwalks overlooking the hanger, a long rifle head in his hands. "Sniper! Open fire!" he called out.

HK was scoping around to focus on another Dark Jedi. He agreed with Canderous' idea that taking them out first would be best for the battle. Of course, that was really secondary. The more important reason was that it was far more satisfying watching these heads pop without those bothersome helmets keeping in the spray.

His defense sensors kicked in and he backed up quickly as a barrage of blaster fire erupted around his position. He dropped the sniper rifle and switched over to a regular blaster he had found. He leapt off the catwalk and landed hard on the metal floor. He instantly rushed to avoid the rain of blaster bolts fired his way. His speed was more than the soldiers expected as he raced to a corner of the hanger, firing as he went.

The colonel cursed as he saw a half dozen of his men cut down. "Fall back!" he called out as he started to back up. He reached to his belt, his fingers closing around a grenade. He was just about to pull the pin when a rumble went through the area. Frowning, he looked up to see the double doors of the hanger slowly opening. The blue force field shimmered against the blackness of space.

"Run…" the colonel croaked as he backed up. His eyes were wide in terror as he realized what was about to happen. "Everyone, get out of here------"

That was as far as he got before the force field switched off. Instantly, the vacuum of space erupted into the hanger, sucking every body out. HK clung to pipes, his legs fixed hard into the floor as he held on tight, watching the soldiers and Dark Jedi blown out into space. The force field switched back on and the atmosphere returned.

In the control room overlooking the hanger, Faith nodded to T3. "Good job, dish-head." As the droid disconnected from the control console, Faith nodded to the others. "Let's get it fired up. When Buffy and the rest come in, they're not going to be wanting to waste any time."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Buffy stared at Malak, her jaw slightly open as she tried to process what he had just said. "Um…huh?" she finally got out.

Malak kept studying her, rubbing his iron jaw. "Interesting…always wondered what you'd look like as a blonde. Hmm….the red suited you better." His eyes tracked over her. "And you appear to have lost a few inches in height. A bad mistake, I think but I'm sure they had their reasons."

Buffy shook her head. "What….what the hell are you on about?"

Malak raised his eyebrows. "You mean…you really don't know? You really haven't figured it out by now, Revan? Surely you must have seen the signs…"

**"_They say the Force can do terrible things," Carth said. "They say it can wipe out your mind and replace it with a new identity."_**

Buffy frowned. "Signs?"

**_"We usually do not take in one so old for training as a Padawan," Master Zhar said in that first meeting with her so long ago. "But in a case as unique as this, we must make an exception."_**

"I…I don't know what you're playing at," Buffy stammered. "But Revan…is dead…"

**_"The Jedi do not believe in executing their prisoners, no matter what their crimes."_**

"So I believed," Malak stated. "Until I was told of you. But you truly don't remember, Revan? You don't remember the quest we took for the Star Forge?"

**_"Primary neural recognition complete," the hologram said in a dry voice after scanning over Buffy and Vance. "Preliminary neural match found. Greetings!"_**

Buffy shook her head…trying to throw away the images suddenly coming into her brain. "Wait…I…this can't…"

**_"Are you so certain of that?" Vrook snapped. "What if we undertake to train this one and the Dark Lord returns?"_**

"This…can't…" She whispered.

**_"What better way to deal with an enemy that to turn him to your side? To use his knowledge against his former allies?"_**

"No," she whispered as something snapped in her mind and the memories rushed in…

**That battle…the blast of lightning she took…a blast she shouldn't have survived…The sight of Revan falling before her, the mask flying away…**

_**"Well, they say everyone has a double somewhere in the world. Why shouldn't it be certain that they have one in the universe?"**_

"No….no….no…."

**Revan standing atop some sort of temple…The gloved hands reaching up to remove the mask and show the face…**

**The face she had seen when he fell…**

"Oh, please, God, no…"

**HER face.**

"NOOOO!" she howled. She slowly turned on her heel and stared at Bastila as if she had never seen her before. "It…it's true…isn't it?" she hoarsely asked.

"It's true," Bastila admitted in a choked voice. "I was part of the strike team sent to capture Revan...to capture you. When Malak fired on that ship, a plasma conduit exploded and you were badly injured. We thought you were dead. Your mind was destroyed, but I used the Force to preserve the flicker of life in your body. I brought you to the Jedi Council. They were the ones who healed your damaged mind."

"Me...or Revan?" Buffy couldn't bear to hear this.

Bastila took in a deep breath. "I...Revan's body…the mind was almost completely destroyed but there was still a flicker of memory…memory we needed."

"What. About. Me?" Buffy hissed.

Bastila closed her eyes. "Your body…the burst of lightning you took from Revan was fatal, you were dying but…" She opened her eyes and bit her lip. "Your mind was almost intact…your memories, your personality…And you bore such a striking resemblance to Revan…"

"You….put…my mind…in….her body…" Buffy could not believe what she was hearing.

Bastila stammered. "The Jedi hold all life sacred, even that of a Sith Lord. I could not just let you die, Revan. Not if it were possible to save you."

"And if we'd known," Carth hissed. "We would have put her to death, then arrested your entire Order for treason."

"We needed her alive!" Bastila said. "We needed the information she carried in her memories on the Star Forge so we could find it!"

"You used her!" Vance snapped as he rose up. "You were no better than the Sith!"

"You lied to me," Buffy said, her face twisting in rage. "For the last two years, you've done nothing but lie to me!"

"I had no choice!" Bastila cried out. "We needed the information you had on the Star Forge. We hoped we could lead you back into the Light as well!"

Malak snorted. "Please. You simply wanted to control her, as you always want to do with those most powerful. As you tried to do with me. And him." He nodded toward Vance. He waved a hand and Bastila, Vance and Carth found themselves frozen in place, unable to move.

Malak focused on Buffy, his lightsaber strong in his hands. "You know, Revan…I regretted what I did. Oh, not turning on you, that was inevitable. But doing it from afar. This is how it should have been. Master against apprentice, one on one." He lunged forward, his red blade cutting forward.

Despite the numbness inside her, Buffy instinctively moved to block his first strikes, stumbling backward as Malak pressed the attack. They backed further in the hallways, away from the others as they dueled, Malak's eyes alight with pleasure as he moved in, his red blade flashing. Buffy was running on automatic pilot, trying to avoid the more lethal strikes while blocking the others.

As they fought, the chill around Buffy's heart grew colder. She knew the attacks Malak was going to make. She knew his style, she knew how he fought. She knew…because she had helped teach him.

The distraction was just enough for Malak's blade to strike out and slice a cut along her side. As she cried out, Malak thrust out his arm and Buffy found herself lifted off her feet. If he had a mouth, Malak would be grinning as hard as he could as he lifted up his lightsaber for a quick strike. As it came down, a yellow whirlwind cut between them, blocking his blow. Buffy landed on the ground, hissing in pain as she felt a burn along her ribcage.

Turning, Malak saw Bastila standing in the doorway, calling her lightsaber back and charging. "You will not take her!" she yelled as she threw out her hand. Malak was flown back into another hallway as Bastila charged toward him. She slowed just enough to lock her eyes with Buffy, apology in her gaze. "Find the Map. Find the Star Forge and stop him!" With that, she raced into the hallway where Malak had recovered. The door behind her slammed and sealed shut.

"Bastila!" Buffy yelled out, reaching toward the door. Despite all she had just learned, seeing the woman she had called a teacher and friend sacrifice herself was almost too much to bear.

"Buffy!" She turned to see Vance coming toward her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her away. "Come on! She's giving us a chance, we can't waste it!"

Reluctantly, Buffy felt herself dragged away as the pain of her wound hit her. She was barely aware of Vance pulling her to the ship just as she was unaware of the disgusted glare Carth was giving them both. All she could think of was what she had just learned.

That Buffy Summers had been dead for two years. That she…was the greatest evil the galaxy had known in over a generation. That she had been behind the death of millions upon millions of innocent beings.

Given all that, it was a downright relief when the pain overwhelmed her and blackness took her away.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Is she okay?" Faith asked as soon as she saw the two men race up the ramp, Vance holding Buffy. "Where's Bastila?"

"Holding off Malak," Vance said. "She doesn't want us to wait. Tell Canderous to get us out of here now!"

"You should have left her behind too," Carth hissed, pointing at Buffy.

Faith was taken aback. "Carth, what are you-----"

"Carth, just help us get out of here, we'll argue later!" Vance stated as he lifted the limp body toward the medbay. Carth brushed past Faith and headed to the flight deck. Faith immediately ran toward the gun turrets and was strapping in as the _Ebon Hawk _raised from the hanger and blasted into space.

"Anyone else in the other turret?" she called out through the headset.

"I am," Mission's voice crackled. "What do you say? Winner gets first dibs on dinner tonight?"

"Depends who's cooking," Faith cracked back as she prepared to open fire. She saw a half dozen Sith fighters sweep out of the huge ship and toward them. She was surprised to see that the _Leviathan _was already starting to pull away and preparing for warp. She brushed that aside as she lined up the targets and began to open fire.

It wasn't easy keeping the firing going while Carth and Canderous twisted the ship in evasive maneuvers. The Sith fighter pilots appeared to be well-trained and evaded the shots better than the two women had expected. However, Faith managed to catch one with a glancing shot across his wing. The fighter spun about, out of control and smashed into another. That appeared to shake up the rest of the squadron and within minutes, the fighters were spaces of debris floating through space.

As she felt the lurch of the ship going into hyperspace, Faith let out a long sigh of relief. That ended as soon as she stepped into the main hanger and saw Carth wielding a blaster and Vance standing before him, lightsaber in hand but not ignited.

"Let me through!" Carth yelled, his face tight with absolute hate and anger.

"You're not killing her!" Vance snapped back. "You understand that? You want her, you have to go through me!"

"Don't tempt me," Carth said as he hefted his gun.

"Whoa, whoa, Carth, what the hell---" Faith put a hand on his shoulder and was shocked as he knocked it away and whirled on her.

"Did you know?" He hissed, his eyes wild. "You're her friend, did you know what she is? Did you!"

Faith was shocked speechless by the look in his eyes, so wild and uncontrolled. "Get a grip, man!" Canderous yelled out as he came in from the cockpit. "What has gotten into you?"

"You want to tell them or should I?" Not waiting for Vance to answer, Carth faced the others, who had gathered around him. "All this time…while we've been searching for pieces of the map and trying to stop Malak…we've had Malak's old Master with us all this time!"

Mission frowned. "What? What are you saying?"

"Revan!" Carth erupted. "Revan is in there!"

"You've lost it, Republic," Canderous snorted. "Revan is dead!"

"No, she's not!"

"He's right."

Everyone turned to Jolee, who stood calmly leaning against the wall. Carth's eyes narrowed as he stepped forward. "You…you knew."

The elder Jedi gave a "humph" sound. "Course I knew. Can't have one of the most powerful Sith of all time show up on your doorstep and not know, now can you?"

"And you never said anything!" Carth erupted. "I oughta shoot you after I kill her!"

"Wasn't my place," Jolee stated. "'Sides, as you can tell, she's not exactly the same person she was."

"Okay, I'm several zip codes away from lost here," Faith piped up. "What the hell are you two talking about!"

At Carth's slow nod, Jolee took a deep breath. "First of all, let's clear up a common misconception. Revan was a woman."

Canderous' jaw actually dropped open at that while Juhani's expression was a slow nod, as if she had long suspected as much. "Yep," Jolee confirmed. "She kept it a good secret. She knew going in it would be tough getting so many Jedi and Republic soldiers to follow her as it was. So disguising herself in that mask and the robes was a good way to motivate the men, to keep them fighting. You all know that there's still the idea that women can't be as capable at war than men. She used that to keep everything in line."

"A woman…" Canderous shook his head. "Incredible."

"What's that got to do with Buffy?" Faith impatiently snapped.

"I got Bastila to tell me the full story," Jolee went on. "What happened was that the Council sent Bastila to bring Revan in alive. They never figured she'd do it of course but then Bastila was always one for the letter of the law. So she managed to catch up to Revan, laid out the trap and was fighting her when your friend Buffy dropped in from who knows where."

"And Revan zapped her before he…she got wasted," Faith said with an impatient wave of her hand. "She already told me that."

"No," Jolee flatly said. "You know what she thinks happened. But she didn't know the full story. The blast of lightning was fatal to her. Her body was dying, no way to save it. Revan was hit by a plasma conduit, a pretty nasty shock but her body was okay. However, I don't think I have to tell you how plasma shocks can affect memory. Revan's mind was almost totally wiped out. There was a small flicker of knowledge in there, knowledge the Jedi wanted but the rest was a blank slate.

"So…and I'm still trying to figure out exactly how wrong this was and how many rules and Jedi tenants it shattered…the Council decided to do something a bit unorthodox."

"What?" Faith asked…although a tiny part of her mind was telling her she already knew the horrifying truth.

"I'm sure to them it made sense." Jolee held up one palm. "On the one hand, you've got a Sith Lord who's mind is almost damaged but somewhere deep inside has information you desperately need and whose body is pretty much okay."

He held up the other palm. "On the other hand, you've got some mysterious woman literally dropping in out of nowhere whose own body is dying but her mind is pretty much intact and who, by an amazing twist of fate, is an almost exact double for said Sith Lord."

He shrugged. "So, to the Council, the solution was obvious." He brought his hands together and laced the fingers. It took a moment for it to sink in and every person felt their mouths go dry and hearts sink as the realized what he was saying.

"They…they…" Mission swallowed. "You're saying…they…downloaded Buffy's mind…into Revan's body!"

Jolee nodded. "Oh, it's a bit more complicated than that. It takes a lot of power and skill. Of course, the Jedi aren't supposed to even consider such an idea but I guess desperate times overwhelm thousands of years of tradition," he bitterly noted.

Faith slumped into a chair as her knees went weak. "Oh my God," she whispered. "That's why…that's why she didn't have the Slayer stuff anymore…it wasn't her body…"

"I don't believe this," Carth muttered. "I can't believe…"

"Believe it," Jolee snapped. "Bastila told me herself. Told me how they surgically altered Revan's body, dyed the hair, new eye color, even shaved off a few inches so Buffy wouldn't notice when she woke up. They figured eventually Revan's memories would come to her and they'd get what they wanted." He rubbed his head. "Of course, they underestimated how strong Buffy's mind would take to the process so it took a lot longer than they figured before any memories would come back."

"And even then," Vance dully said. "It took being confronted with the truth right in her face for her to break."

Jolee turned his gaze toward him. "Speaking of truths, is there something you'd like to share with us…Vance?"

His head sharply raised to look at the elder Jedi. "She told you that too?"

Jolee nodded. "Yep. Might as well get it all out in the open now, don't you think?"

Vance saw how everyone else was looking at him in puzzlement and suspicion. Taking a deep breath, he raised himself to his full height. "My name...my real name…is Janar Navca."

The name meant nothing to anyone with the exception of Juhani. The Cathar's yellow eyes widened in shock. "You…" she hissed. "You…are the Exile!"

"The who?" Faith weakly asked.

"He…he was a top general for Revan during the Mandalorian War," Juhani explained, her eyes fixed on Vance. "He was in command at Malachor V. Afterward, when Revan and Malak left…he was the only one of their generals to turn himself into the Jedi and face trial for his actions."

"They found him guilty of breaking the code," Vance said, his voice still bitter. "They made me give up my lightsaber and cast me out of the order, forcing me to live on my own."

"Wait a minute!" Carth snapped. "You mean you've been a Jedi all this time?"

"Not…exactly," Vance…or rather Janar…said. "Right after my exile began, I found my connection to the Force cut off. I figured that was part of the punishment." He looked to Jolee and Juhani. "And let me tell you, as bad as you think losing the Force can be? It's a lot worse."

He looked back to the others. "So I was pretty surprised when it came back to me on Taris. And I was surprised again when Bastila brought me before the Council and found out they knew nothing of this." He shrugged. "Maybe it was some kind of mental block or something."

"Buffy…" Carth stopped. "Revan…on Taris, you were injured, she used her abilities to try and heal you."

"Somehow, she must have made a connection," Jolee theorized. "Gave your Force powers a jump start as it were. Which also explains how come you shared the visions she and Bastila received on the Star Map."

"So…what now?" Mission piped up. "I mean…Bastila's captured, we're on the run, Buffy is Revan…"

"I laid in a course for a place we can hide out for a bit," Canderous intoned. "A space station by Yavin Davik used to use. We can get repairs and figure out our next move."

"Our next move should be dumping that Sith in space!" Carth bellowed.

Faith was on her feet instantly. "You do…you've got to dump me out too!"

Carth pointed at the medbay. "She's…you have any idea what that monster has done? To me! To this galaxy!"

"She's…my friend!"

"Haven't you been listening, Faith? Your friend has been _dead_ for two years! That…thing is just a memory in the body of pure evil!"

"Statement: I am…feeling something…unusual." They turned to see HK cocking his head to the side and shuddering.

"Oh, great, he's finally snapped!" Faith yelled, grabbing her gun.

The droid stopped shaking and held up a hand. "Objection: There is no need. I am quite stable. This stimulus is activating….yes! Statement: I believe I have a homing beacon. Sith protocols require all droid knowledge to be deleted upon assassination missions and restored upon return. My core memory has been set to activate upon return to my original master!"

"Original….you mean Revan?" Carth blurted.

"Confirmation: Correct! I was personally designed and programmed by Darth Revan! With her return confirmed, I may once again take my place at her side!"

"We bought Revan's droid?" Mission said in disbelief. "That's kind of a stretch."

"We're talking about the Force here," Canderous reminded her. "Malak himself could drop in out of the sky and I wouldn't bat an eye at this point."

"True."

"Statement: In the event my Master cannot be with me in person, I am to follow secondary programming and present myself in the service of her closest aide!" He turned to Faith. "Clarification: Given her recent actions, that would be you, dark meatbag."

"Great," Faith said, her voice faint. "My own personal Terminator. Just what I always wanted."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Her eyes opened but all she saw was white. For a brief moment, she hoped she was dead and back in Heaven. But she realized it wasn't that. The room was white except for a large opaque surface before her. She stepped forward and saw her reflection staring back at her.

Before her eyes, it shifted, the figure growing taller, the blonde hair replaced by dark red, the eyes taking on an evil glow. There were some slight differences in the shape of the nose and cheeks but otherwise, it was almost exactly like her own face. Save for the smirk pulled on the dark-colored lips and the way the voice carried a mocking tone.

"Buffy Summers," Revan stated. "I think it's past time we finally had a talk."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**So this should answer a few questions. As you can imagine, things are going to be a little different from here on in so keep the comments coming. **


	4. Chapter 4

Slayers of the Old Republic

Book VII: Leviathan

By Michael Weyer

If Yavin 4 had any major part to play in the universe, Faith didn't see it.

The large orange planet hung quietly in a quiet system. From the little she had gathered, Faith knew it was basically uninhabited and thus made it a popular place to hide out. She had no idea how Canderous even knew of this place nor did she really care. She was too busy reacting to her entire world being turned upside down.

The large space station hung in the orbit above the planet as the _Hawk_ made dock with it. It appeared to be shaped like a large cigar and while several of its plates were torn and burned, it appeared in relatively good shape. The ship docked and locked down, its ramp lowering and Canderous, Zaalbar and Mission stepped out.

Waiting at the bottom of the ramp was a Riordian in a red flight suit who nodded to them. _"Canderous…been a while. Doing an errand for Davik?"_

"Davik's dead," Canderous rumbled. "The _Hawk_ belongs to us now."

The Riordian nodded, not surprised. "_Heard about Taris, figured he bought it when he didn't show up for any of his stuff. Also explains rumbles in Exchange."_

Canderous motioned toward him as he addressed his companions. "This is Suvam Tan. He runs this place. The Exchange uses it regularly for storage, repairs and other things they don't want done in more open places."

Tan nodded toward them. _"So what you need, Canderous?"_

"Repairs, supplies, any extra credits you may have lying around and a place to hide out for a while," the Mandalorian said. "Let's just say we've had some Sith problems."

"_More Sith?"_ Tam shook his head. _"Not shocked. Sith like Exchange that way. Kill one, someone else takes his place. Always it has to be – guess universe likes it."_ He walked up to the large, hairy creature and examined. _"Never see one like you before."_

"His name's Zaalbar," explained the young Twi'lek. "He's a Wookiee. Sorry that he can't speak your language. I'll translate if you want. By the way, I'm Mission. Nice place you have here."

Tam beamed. _"You like? Well, you friendlier than most Exchange. And so this is what Wookiee looks like. I hear those nasty Trandoshans talking about Wookiees – never thought I would see one."_

"We're not exactly working for the Exchange, Tam," Canderous explained. "More like freelancing at the moment. And those boot-scrapings are still causing you trouble?"

_"The Exchange hasn't shown up here in many months. But you telling me Davik's dead – makes sense as to why no visitors. Unfortunately, no Exchange means they start to get ideas…"_

Zaalbar grunted. _"Trandoshans here? That can be very bad."_

"Mercenaries and thugs," explained Canderous. "They're frequent guests to this outpost, and the Exchange wielded the bigger club here."

"Beks and Vulkars all over again," muttered Mission.

"More like your Beks and Vulkars on battle stims, Mission," he told her.

_"Trandoshans have a system of honor," _Zaalbar said. _"Closer to your people's than mine, Canderous. Czerka never got a good hold on their planet because they believed they would be rewarded in the afterlife by how many they killed. Wasn't 'cost-effective' as the Czerka would say."_

"I don't suppose it would be," Canderous said. "Unfortunately, gaining an outpost like this would look pretty good on their score card."

_"Anyway, you here now. I send my droids to fix your ship. Anything else you need?"_

"I'll let you know," Canderous said. He gestured to a metal cargo box in the hallway. Tam hobbled past Zaalbar to open it. He took out the contents and inspected them. Ration bars, droid parts, computer spikes, security spikes, and grenades. Aside from the ration bars, the other things had been cobbled together by the crew – mostly as a way to earn pin money in port.

Tam's eyes lit up. _"Wow. You know what I like! I'll get started, you can relax here. Don't worry! You be safe here!"_

As he walked off, the three exchanged uneasy glances. "I don't know how much safety we can get now," Mission said. "Not just from the Sith but…"

"We'll keep an eye on him," Canderous remarked. "This place is pretty out of the way. If Malak is interested in going after us, he'll be looking at Republic and Jedi-connected places, not Exchange."

"Hope you're right," Mission let out a long breath. "Cause otherwise, we might as well stake a place out on Yavin to live at."

Canderous snorted. "The day Yavin 4 has any important colony living on it is the day the stars explode."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Faith carefully entered the dining room of the ship. As she suspected, Carth sat at a table, his arms folded, his guns before him. He stared down as if trying to burn a hole in the table with his eyes. She cleared her throat but he gave no sign of hearing her. "Carth?" she softly said as she reached to his shoulder.

"Get. Back."

She pulled her hand back as she sat across from him. "Thought I'd find you here." She licked her lips. "Vance….I mean…Janar…he was afraid you'd be going after her."

"I wanted to," Carth said. "But that damn droid is stationed outside her room, ready to stop anyone who goes after her." He scowled "His Master."

Faith licked her lips. "Listen, Carth, I know this is hard…"

"Hard?" Carth glared up at her. "Hard knowing the monster who ruined my life, my family has been with us all this time? That she's in a room, ready to be executed for her crimes and none of you are willing to do it!"

"She….it's not that easy," Faith said.

"Why not?" Carth rose up. "She's not your friend, Faith! She never was! She's a mass murderer, a soulless, ruthless creature…"

"I've spent the last seven years fighting soulless and ruthless monsters, Carth," Faith snapped as she got to her feet. "I fought them and I ended up turning into the thing I was supposed to be fighting! I've killed people, Carth! Not soldiers, not evil, but people who didn't deserve it! I tried to kill Buffy! I wanted to!"

She pointed at the door. "And after all that…she was willing to give me a chance. She was willing to trust me again. It wasn't easy, she still had a bit attitude about me and rightfully so but she did give that chance. I'm not going to forget that."

Carth shook his head. "That's nice, Faith but you're forgetting what Jolee said. Your friend, the one who gave you that chance, is dead. That's not really her in there."

Faith set her jaw, fighting back the sorrow she'd felt ever since she'd learned the truth. "I have lost my family, what little friends I had and my home, Carth. I'm not going to lose her. That…that may be just her memories but it's the memories of a damn good woman and she deserves to have that kept alive."

Carth leaned in. "She. Killed my family."

"She. Saved me."

"If you're not with me on this…you're not with me."

Faith showed no backing down. "If that's what it's gotta be…fine."

Carth glared and picked up his guns as he stalked away. Faith watched him go before slumping in her seat and putting her head into her hands, allowing the events of the day to finally overwhelm her.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Carth entered the training room, already upset and his mood was not helped as he saw Vance…no, Janar, he's Janar…sitting cross-legged on the floor. "Taking a break?" he sardonically said.

Janar looked up at him. "Meditating. Trying to clear my head of all this."

Carth's eyes narrowed. "Did you know about her?"

Janar shook his head. "I always thought Revan was a man, like everyone else. I sure as hell never suspected Buffy…"

"But you lied about yourself," Carth said, his voice cold. "I told you back on Taris I needed to trust you and you went on lying."

"I learned a long time ago that broadcasting being an ex-Jedi isn't a smart thing," Janar snapped. "I'm not going to apologize to you for it."

Carth paced the room, throwing up his hands. "You, Bastila, Faith, B---Revan, all of you have been lying since this started!"

"You can't accuse her of lying." The two turned to see Jolee stepped into the room. "She didn't know at all."

"But now she does," Carth said. "And I still don't get why she's still alive!"

"We need her," Janar said. "The Star Maps are in her memory, she could be the key to finding them."

"I don't care!" Carth yelled. "After what Revan did to the Republic, to my world-----"

"Oh, put a sock in it!" Jolee yelled. The two men were thrown by the sudden rancor in his tone. "You think you're the only one who's lost a wife?"

"You…." Carth blinked in surprise, as did Janar.

"This is a story I've told no one in forty years," Jolee said bitterly. "It's one I wanted buried with me, but the time's come to tell it, I suppose. You need to hear it, so you will shut up and indulge this decrepit old man."

There was something too familiar in Jolee's voice. Carth kept silent.

Jolee sat heavily on a bench. "One thing I will - very reluctantly - grant the Sith is that the messier baggage of being a sentient can scare a Jedi out of their mind. It's something too many Jedi would rather run from than face," Jolee admitted. "It's why I never made it past Padawan, and probably would have made a very poor Knight, especially in the here and now. Exar Kun's War changed so much…"

Jolee sighed. "My wife's name was Nayama. I won't call it the smoothest of courtships – it did start with her shooting me out of the sky after all. I think I told you earlier about my foray into smuggling," he said.

"Mission…mentioned something about it."

"She was a hell of a woman. Fiery, determined, strong…and oh, that body…" He was smiling slightly with the memory. "Foiled three of my attempts to escape prison, too. I ended up having to kidnap her to escape the system! As I said, not the smoothest of courtships…" With a heavy sigh, he forced himself back into the present. "I could tell she was strong with the Force. That's how she was able to shoot me down in the first place. After we were wed, I trained her in secret – AFTER the Jedi Council forbade it. She was headstrong and proud, but I loved her…I loved her so much." He hung his head and sighed. "Like you, I married a great woman and lost her."

"She was killed in the War, you mean?" Janar gently asked.

"Yes," Jolee said "But I didn't lose Nayama as you lost your wife. The Force decided it wanted to be crueler than that. She joined the war with Exar Kun - as a Sith."

"Your wife jumped ship? She betrayed you, the Jedi, the Republic…?" Carth's head was spinning. "What…what did you do?"

"I couldn't stop her. She came to me, pleading to throw off the 'decrepit trappings' of the Jedi. I tried reasoning with her, begged her to reconsider, but she would have none of it. In a rage, she drew her lightsaber."

Carth was stunned past belief. "You…you killed your wife?"

Jolee shook his head. "No. I had her unarmed and defenseless. She looked up at me and knew…she knew I couldn't."

"I…well, I couldn't either. Not in your boots. I…I mean Saul was one thing, but…"

"Ah, but I should have. I let her go, and she went on to kill many others before being killed herself in the final battle. I grieved for her death, inevitable though it was." There was a light shimmer in the old man's eyes. "All that fighting, all that madness, and in the big picture, it didn't seem to make a damn bit of difference. After all, the Sith are still here, right?"

"So what did you do?" Janar asked. "I'll bet the Jedi kicked you out so fast you hit lightspeed."

"No, the Council wasn't happy. They put me on trial." But then Jolee said the unexpected. "And they found me innocent."

Janar's eyes bugged out. "Innocent?"

"I deserved compassion, they said. I learned wisdom the hard way, they said." Jolee threw up his hands and paced. "I deserved every punishment and more, Carth. I don't have to explain it to you so much – you've walked this path."

Carth tried to make sense of what Jolee told him. "Yeah…I have. Saul arguing with me to "show a bit of sense" and resign his commission, then storming out. I kept silent when his aide asked me if the admiral was "acting strangely," and blowing the argument off as the heat of the moment and the half-bottle of Telosian brandy. How many lives could I have saved if I'd trusted my gut and not the illusion of friendship?"

Jolee chuckled mirthlessly. "I probably would have better luck with the current crop of masters. They're so frightened it will happen again that the robes are more straitjackets. Not that I can blame them for being so overcautious - discouraging marriages, taking kids from the cradle, elevating the council to a near-deity status, etcetera. Bastila is their best example of the Jedi they want, and she's so brittle that..." Jolee didn't want to say it aloud, obviously, but that possibility couldn't be discounted. "Hell, even if we do rescue Bastila from the Dark Side, and stop the Sith this time, they'll be back. They always come back. It's blasphemy for me to admit this, but the Force doesn't like one extreme or another, I've noticed."

"So that's why the indifference?" Carth asked. "That's why you don't care that we have a Sith Lord on the ship, or why you don't think this whole thing with Malak matters."

"Not so much indifference as just being old and tired," Jolee admitted. "It sometimes works as a way to keep the pain and anger at arms' length – not exactly a Jedi's way, but I'm not exactly a Jedi. I will have to admit that Malak makes up in cruelty what Exar Kun had in cunning, though, and I don't exactly relish watching the Republic fall."

"Well good to know you give a damn about something."

"Oh, it'll fall one day, Carth. Everything dies eventually. Trust someone who's already got a foot in the grave. I used to think none of it mattered. That's why you saw me in the Shadowlands. I had been just waiting for the forest to claim me. But unlike me, who took his saber and walked into the woods with aspirations of oblivion, I've seen you do the bravest thing someone can do - start over and keep going."

He rose up and headed to the doorway. "Lecture's over, boys. I just want to say that things are not as cut and dried as they may be." He looked to Carth. "Remember that when you look at her." He looked to Janar. "Remember that if you decide you still care for her." He walked off to leave the two men to mull over his words.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Buffy swallowed as she faced her doppelganger. "Revan."

The Sith paced around her, looking her over with a somewhat amused glance. "Hmm….the hair isn't exactly what I would have picked." She frowned as she looked down at Buffy. "And I seem to have shrunk." She shook her head. "Amazing what they do with surgery these days."

Buffy kept herself on guard. She knew this was only in her mind. But she'd been in enough mindscapes to know that didn't mean she was safe. Especially given who she was with. "How long have…you been here?"

"I've always been here," Revan calmly stated. "Deep inside…watching…you may have felt me now and then but I couldn't really do anything. Not until now."

"I think…I've felt you," Buffy slowly said. "In my mind…when I used the Force, there was something…dark. I always figured it was the temptation of the Dark Side." She fixed a glare on Revan. "Guess I was right."

Revan studied her gloved hands. "Dark…Light…I decided to put aside such strict labels long ago."

"Oh, when you decided to go evil? Good thinking," Buffy sarcastically said.

Revan glared at her. "I had my reasons for going to the Dark Side, little girl. There are things in the Outer Rim you cannot imagine…things the Jedi cannot battle when sticking to their narrow viewpoint of the universe."

Buffy stared at her, waiting for her to go on. She held out a hand and waved it but Revan just looked at her. "That…that's it? That's all you've got to say on the subject?"

Revan crossed her arms. "That's all you need to know for right now. We have bigger concerns at the moment."

"Let me guess," Buffy said. "You want your body back, right?"

"Once that was all I wanted," Revan admitted. "Right after the change. When I first realized just what they had done, all I wanted was to find a way to crush you and take it all back."

"Fine," Buffy moved into a fighting stance. "Bring it on then."

Revan slowly shook her head. "I said…It was what I once wanted to do. But not anymore."

Buffy's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

Revan calmly paced before her. "When Malak turned on me, I felt anger. After all we've been through, all we've shared…"

Buffy frowned as a rush of new thoughts flowed into her mind. Her jaw dropped wide open. "Oh. My. God. You…and him…you...oh yick!"

Revan seemed amused. "Making moral judgements? You forget, Buffy, I can see your memories as well. Angel, Parker, Riley, Spike? I don't think you have much ground to stand on when it comes to debating someone's choice in lovers."

As Buffy's face flushed, Revan went on. "I knew he was never happy being second-best to me. But still, to just attack me like that…" She shrugged. "I was weak. I admit it, I broke a key rule of the Sith. I let my heart overwhelm my judgment and paid the price with my life."

Buffy snorted. "You're still alive. Me…I…" She rubbed her face. "Oh, damn, I don't even know what they did with my body!"

"That's not important," Revan stated. "What's important is what they did with your mind."

"Put it in yours," Buffy snapped. "Which makes me…I don't know, a memory, nothing more."

Revan was suddenly in front of her, wagging a gloved finger in Buffy's face. "No. You are far, far more than just a collection of memories. If that was all you were, I wouldn't have been trapped here for so long. The Council thought they were just transferring your mind but they didn't count for the Slayer."

Buffy stared. "What are you talking about?"

"The power in you was something they didn't count on," Revan elaborated. "It effected the process, made it stronger but also ensured that it wasn't just your memories or personality they put into me. It was part of your…soul, for lack of a better term."

Buffy felt her jaw loosen. "Are…are you serious?"

"I've spent two years watching you," Revan said. "I've felt the power you give out. That's why you were able to grasp the Force so quickly, faster than they thought you would. The power that made you the Slayer is still with you, Buffy. That means that your soul, or at least part of it, is as well."

Buffy licked her dry lips. "How…how do I know you're telling the truth? I mean, you are a Sith Lord…Lady."

Revan shrugged. "Believe me or not but I am speaking the truth here. Now that you know the truth, you can get at my memories as I have accessed yours. What it comes down to is that you are stronger in this body than I am. That was a difficult thing to admit to myself but I know it is the truth. You stand a better chance of stopping Malak than I would. It is you who the Force has chosen to carry out this mission."

"I'm tired of being chosen," Buffy snarled. "My whole life has been turned inside out because someone up there decided to screw it up! I've had it with the Powers or the Force or whoever using me as a Stratego piece! Ok? You want your body back, have it and let me die like I was supposed to!"

Revan slowly shook her head. "In this we are much alike, Buffy Summers. Fate, the Powers, the Force, whatever you wish to call it…it chose us for a task no one else can do. For me, it was defeating the Mandalorians and what lay beyond. For you…it was undoing the evil I unleashed upon this galaxy. Like me, you cannot deny it no matter how much you try."

She backed away and the vision began to fade even as Buffy protested. "Great…just great….even my own mind is playing cryptic on me. I hate this galaxy."


	5. Chapter 5

Slayers of the Old Republic

Book VII: Levithian

By Michael Weyer

**Sorry for the long delay between updates. Hope this makes up for it.**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"B?" Faith slowly pushed the bulkhead door open, looking at the figure lying on her side on the small bed. "B? You…ok?" She licked her lips as she stepped forward. "B?"

"Shouldn't you be calling me R?" Buffy's eyes remained closed but her voice was strong and sardonic as she answered.

"Aw, come on, Buffy, don't start that," Faith said as she moved to her friend. She reached to rub her shoulder but Buffy batted her arm away.

"Why not?" the blonde snapped. "I'm not her, Faith. Not really. I'm Revan. I've always been Revan. Buffy's….just a memory they plugged into this body."

"I don't believe that," Faith said. "I won't believe that."

"Believe it or not, it's the truth." Buffy sat up, opening her eyes and Faith was thrown by how much colder and older the gaze was. She briefly wondered just how much older than Buffy Revan had been and how much the Jedi had needed to take off to trick the Slayer.

Buffy continued. "They…" She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I remember, Faith…I remember what she did…what I did. The battles, the attacks, all the deaths I've caused…" She failed to keep the tears from leaking from her eyes. "God, Faith….what I've done…"

"What she did," Faith was quick to state. "Her, Raven. Not you."

"Faith…I am her."

Faith shook her head. "B…I've known you a while. I've been hanging out with you for months now since Taris. I've fought with you, laughed with you…Still working on getting hammered with you…" The tiniest hint of a smile came to Buffy's lips as Faith went on. "And in all that time, I never got one hint I was hanging with some Sith Lord. I was with Buffy Summers. As far as I'm concerned, I still am."

Buffy looked at her feet. "I don't…I don't know if that's true anymore, Faith…I…I don't know who I am…"

Faith reached forward to hold her shoulders. "You're my friend," she whispered. "I'm sorry if I haven't said that enough, B, but it's the truth. You've given me more chances than most people ever would."

Buffy shook her head as she looked up. "Faith…I'm a killer…a monster…"

"So was Angel," Faith gently said. "But he's not that anymore. I'm not that anymore. I don't think you're that anymore either."

Buffy rubbed her face. "I don't know what to do now. Seriously. Malak's got Bastila and the Star Forge is still out there and…" She sat on the bed. "I don't know how to handle it."

"The same way you handle everything else," Faith said. "Go head-on at it, figure out a plan as you go."

There was a knock at the door as Janar stuck his head in. "Um…hi. I….I wanted to…"

Faith looked at him, then at Buffy and then started backing up. "I'll…let you two…you know…" She headed out, shutting the door behind her.

Silence reigned as the two stared at each other. "Well, this is awkward," Janar said.

"I remember you now."

He blinked. "What?"

Buffy held her head up strong as she gazed back at him. "I remember you. From the war. You were…one of my best generals." She smiled sadly. "I admired you then, your fire, your tactics, the way you went full-on with every attack. Up to…"

"Malachor," Janar softly said. "I know. I remember."

"That's why you left, wasn't it?" Buffy asked. "Why you didn't want to be a soldier."

Janar looked away. "After what I did…ordering Boa-Dur to unleash that weapon…blasting a planet apart just to achieve victory…I didn't want anything to do with war anymore."

"Funny how the universe works," Buffy said. "As in French cinema funny."

Janar sat across from her, shaking his head. "I…I didn't know about you. Never suspected for a moment the truth, really."

"No one did," Buffy stated. "Except Bastila. She knew all along…"

Janar nodded slowly. "I know that's hard for you. I'd like to think that her attitude to you was changed. She probably thought of you as just a weapon, a source of info on the Sith. But as she got to know you…she realized you were your own person."

"But she still lied to me," Buffy softly said. "She could have…trusted me."

"I think she wanted to," Janar said. "But you must know how tight she was for Jedi Council rules and doctrines. They gave her a mission, she'd stick to it."

Buffy rose to her feet to pace around the room. "I guess that's why she lied." She turned to him, her face solemn. "What's your excuse?"

Janar sighed, knowing this was coming. "I've already put up with Carth's feelings on this."

"Yeah but Carth hasn't been sleeping with you," Buffy fired back. She paused and winced. "Great, another image I didn't want in my head…"

Janar brushed his hair back. "I've gotten used to keeping up the image of just a regular smuggler-pilot. Once you lose the connection to the Force, you have to adapt to a lot of changes in your life. One of them is keeping your past quiet."

"You could have told me later," Buffy softly said. "At the Temple, on Kashyyk, anywhere. You…you could have told me before we got involved and you sure as hell should have told me after we did."

"I don't ask about your past," Janar snapped. "I know you haven't been honest with us about all you went through on your home world, wherever that is. I know there's a lot about yourself you've been holding back."

"No shit," Buffy muttered. "That includes holding back from myself."

Janar was quiet for a long moment. "So…what now?"

"I don't know," Buffy admitted. "I really don't. I know Malak has to be stopped but I'm not sure if we can handle it."

"I meant about us," Janar said. "What now with us?"

Buffy glanced away. "I don't think there is an us now," she softly said.

Janar took that in and slowly rose to his feet. He carefully marched over to the door and opened it. He paused at the doorway to speak. "It wasn't all a lie, was it?"

"No," Buffy replied, staring at the wall. "If it was…It wouldn't hurt this much."

Janar took that in before leaving. Buffy kept staring out at the wall, trying to reconcile the thoughts in her tortured mind.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

For a Cathar, mastering emotions was a difficult task at best. A Cathar Jedi had a more difficult struggle with it, particularly one who had tasted the Dark Side already. With all that had happened in the last day, Juhani felt meditation was her best option.

She sat cross-legged in her quarters, staring out into space as she kept her breathing steady. The Force had always come easy to her, even as a child. But the control…that was the tricky part. Especially given the wild range of emotions on the ship right now.

She felt the shiver of rage just before Carth passed by. "You should not listen to it," she called out.

He paused by the doorway and frowned as he looked inside. "What?"

"The anger. The hate. The pain." Juhani turned her head to him. "I know too well what they lead to."

Carth glared at her. "You jumping on the 'let's save the Sith' bandwagon too?"

Juhani simply stared back at him calmly. "You are forgetting, Carth. It was Revan who saved my family and myself from slavers. She set me on the path that brought me here. I owe her more than just my life."

"How can you be so calm about it?" he demanded. "She's a mass murderer, Juhani! If it wasn't for what the Jedi did, she'd have killed us all without a second thought! Now that she remembers, she may well do it!"

"She will not," Juhani flatly stated.

"How do you know?"

"I know." Juhani turned back, settling down. "Faith will agree with that. That should mean something to you."

Carth looked away. "It doesn't."

"You're too good a man to lie like that," Juhani noted. "She means a lot to you, Carth. You should not lose her over this."

"I'll lose her because she's siding with the enemy," he snarled.

"There is an old saying, Carth. A saying that comes from several planets. The only enemy that can truly destroy you…is the one within. Do not let that happen."

He simply mused her words over as he left.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"I want to know why."

Jolee stopped in the hallway near Mission's room and took a deep breath. He turned to see Faith standing before him, arms crossed and anger on her features. "Why didn't you tell us?" she bit out.

"It wasn't my place."

"Like hell it wasn't!" Faith marched over and pointed a finger at him. "You knew all along about this and you never told us, Jolee! I trusted you, we all trusted you and you kept this hidden from us! Why?"

Jolee ran a hand over his bald head. "It wasn't the right time to say it. Call it a cop-out but the fact is, there was a time and place for this to happen, Faith. Admittedly, I would have liked it if it had been better circumstances."

"No shit," Faith snapped. "Dammit, this still wasn't the way to do it! You should have told us!"

"Kid, when you get older------"

"Do not play the senior citizen card!" Faith interrupted. "Do you have any idea what she's going through now? Don't say you do because there's no way in hell you can! She's found out everything about her is a lie, Jolee! You had a right to tell us!"

"So I could ruin it sooner?" the elder Jedi snapped back. "Do not lecture to me, girl! I have been through hells you cannot imagine!"

"Oh, trust me, you haven't," Faith stated and something in her voice made Jolee believe her. "And especially not a hell like she's going through."

"I thought it'd be better this way," Jolee said.

Faith sniffed. "Funny, I think that's what the Jedi and Bastila said."

"Faith." The two turned to see Buffy stepping into the hallway. Her eyes still seemed to have dark circles under them but she appeared stronger somehow than when Faith had left her. "Get the others together in the main room. I need to talk to the crew."

"B? You okay?" Faith asked.

"Just get everyone together," Buffy said as she marched by them. "Everyone."

Faith and Jolee looked at each other and shrugged. "Sounds like we're getting another interesting wrinkle into things," Jolee noted.

"Good cause we needed more twists," Faith said in a tired voice as they walked off.

Buffy made her way to the mechanic area to find HK standing by a recharging unit next to T3. "So….you're mine, huh?"

"Statement: That I am, Master. It is more gratifying to see you again!"

"Makes one of us," Buffy sourly stated as she pulled out her lightsaber. She examined it, making sure it was still in working order. "So…I built you?"

"Clarification: No, Master, my actual construction was handled by someone else. But you did personally program me and installed my personality and protocols. As well as adding all I needed to know to fulfill my duties as a killer. Query: Have I already thanked you enough for that?"

"Can you explain the meatbag thing?" Buffy asked.

"Explanation: I made a comment about it to your apprentice, Master. He took exception to it but you found his reaction humorous and thus added it to my programming."

"So Malak was the original meatbag, huh?" Buffy managed a chuckle. "I kinda like that." She paused, biting her lip. "HK, did I ever tell you about the Star Forge?"

The droid's head swiveled. "Regretful statement: No, Master. You did not share that information with me. You kept some things secret from all but Malak."

"Hmmm….how did you end up on Tatooine?" Buffy asked.

"Explanation: You had sent me to eliminate a planetary governor, Master. I was to return but then Malak launched his attack upon you. As per your instructions, my temporary memory wipe was activated. I passed from owner to owner for a year before being sold to that inferior meatbag."

Buffy nodded. "Guess it's better than if you landed with Malak."

"Statement: Your apprentice struck me as a ruthless and amoral creature with a unsated lust for death in as painful a manner as possible. I rather liked him. But had I known what he would do to you, Master, I would have not hesitated to tear his body apart limb from limb!"

"Thanks for that," Buffy said. "You better get to the main room, I'm addressing the crew."

"Statement: As you wish, Master. Know that whatever path you choose, I will be at your side. Plead: Master…please let it be the path most bloody?"

Buffy watched him march off then looked to T3. "It says a lot that you're probably the most well-adjusted person on this ship."

The droid's head rose and fell, which was apparently his version of a shrug.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

She felt their eyes on her as soon as she stepped through the doorway. The entire crew was assembled, all staring at her with various expressions. Jolee, Juhani and Canderous were patient. Mission and Zaalbar seemed excited. Faith and Janar were supportive. And Carth…Buffy had to close her eyes to push back the wave of pure hatred he gave out.

She cleared her throat before speaking. "You all know the truth now. Yes, I was Revan. In some ways…I still am. I remember things she…I did. I remember the worlds that got burned…I remember fights and battles…It's not all clear, though."

"Just bits and pieces?" Mission asked, hopefully.

Buffy nodded. "So far. I still can't fully remember the Star Forge or what it does. I do know it's vital to the Sith's plans. Which means we have to find it and destroy it."

"What about Bastila?" Janar asked.

Buffy sighed. "She knew…what would happen. She gave us the chance to get away. I won't waste that." She brought her head up, steeling herself as she spoke. "We all got pulled into this in different ways and for different reasons. None of us asked for this. But it's the hand we've been dealt and we have to play it.

"I know you're all worried about me. About Revan coming back. Right now, I'm not talking as Revan. I'm talking as Buffy Summers. I'm going to find that map. I'm going to find the Star Forge. And I am sure as hell going to kick Malak's ass so bad it's gonna scare off any potential Sith for the next few centuries." Her voice remained at the same volume but the strength in it had grown. "I can't do it alone. I'm asking you more than anyone has asked anyone else before. I'm asking you to trust me. I'm asking you to be willing to risk your lives for…No, not for me. For what's right.

"The Jedi on Dantooine did what they thought was best. They pressed for me to retrain, to try and be the model Jedi again. They're dead now. They're dead and their temple is rubble. What we're doing is more dangerous than ever. But I'm going, no matter what. The Sith win, we all lose, that's a fact. Lives, freedom, justice, it all goes down for who knows how long. Someone up there chose me to fight evil. That's what I'm going to keep doing, no matter who I am.

"So all I have to know is…Are you in? Or are you out? Who's willing to come with me? I'm not demanding it of anyone. I tried that once. I tried to be the hard as nails leader and I almost led a group of untrained girls to their deaths. I'm asking you….if you want to come…tell me."

A long silence followed her speech. It was broken by Mission. "You…If you don't remember," she began hesitantly. "Then…I shouldn't be worried. You remember being Buffy more than being Revan…that's no problem for me."

_"Or for me," _Zaalbar rumbled. _"I swore a lifedebt to the person you are, not the one you were. Where you go, I go."_

Buffy looked to the stocky man next to them. "Canderous?"

The Mandolarian brought himself up straight and when he spoke, his voice was truly reverent. "Your command of warfare was greater than any of us have ever seen. You beat the best Mandalore offered and slew him in combat. None have defeated us like you did. How can I not follow you?"

"You saved me, Revan," Juhani stated. "I owe you everything. I am with you all the way."

Buffy looked to Jolee who simply smiled. "I knew about you all along, kid. Course I'm with you."

Buffy glanced toward Janar. They simply stared at one another in silence. He finally gave a nod, which she answered before looking to Carth. "Carth…"

"You bombed my world," he snapped.

"I didn't!" Buffy yelled back. "I never targeted civilian population centers! Malak was the one who ordered the whole planet attacked and I made it clear I didn't want that. How the hell do you think he lost his jaw!"

Carth crossed his arms as he fixed her with an icy stare. "I'll be watching you. And if I see a sign…"

"Do what you have to do," Buffy said. "In fact…I'd welcome it." She gazed to the last person there.

Faith's smirk had vanished. "I tried to cut down your leadership once, B. We know how that turned out. I'm there, no matter what happens, to the death and all that shit."

Buffy nodded. "Thanks, Faith," she whispered. Taking a deep breath, she began to give out orders. "Canderous, Carth, get the repairs done as soon as you can. Mission, Zaalbar, you handle supplies. Janar, Faith, make sure we've got all the ammo and tech we need." She turned to head to her quarters. "We're headed into the heart of the beast, folks. So make sure we can bite back."

She passed a reflective panel as she marched and for the briefest of moments, she thought she saw a flash of a red-haired figure smiling back at her.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Thanks for putting up for the long delay. Hopefully, won't be as long until the next one comes. As you can tell, things are different now so keep the comments coming.**

**Next: Book VIII: Korriban**


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